According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a commercial vehicle, in particular a fork-lift truck or industrial vehicle, comprising a functional arrangement comprising at least one drive motor for providing at least one working or operating function including a travelling function, and comprising a parameterisable electronic control arrangement, which is configured or programmed to control the functional arrangement depending on a parameter dataset stored in the control arrangement in relation to switching on or off the working or operating function or a respective working or operating function and/or in relation to a type of implementation of the working or operating function or a respective working or operating function.
The behaviour of current commercial vehicles, especially including current fork-lift trucks and industrial trucks, is generally substantially influenced by parameterisable control software that runs in an electronic control arrangement. Some of these parameters are significant for functions relevant to security, in order to influence them, clear them or block them and to adapt the control software to hardware that can alternatively be installed or optionally also omitted.
It may occur during servicing, for example during maintenance or repair, that an electronic control arrangement currently installed in the commercial vehicle has to be exchanged. The service engineer then conventionally has to programme the parameter data valid for the relevant vehicle into the exchange control arrangement, and this is complex and susceptible to faults.
The object is to this extent posed of facilitating the parameterisation of the electronic control arrangement newly installed in the vehicle and to make it less susceptible to faults.
A further object is to ensure the parameter integrity and parameter compatibility in the event of an exchange of controller, which could optionally also be carried out by a user instead of the actual service engineer responsible.
A further object is to provide a simple and reliable possibility for a currently valid parameter dataset for later use, for example after an exchange of the electronic control arrangement.
In order to achieve, or as the basis for achieving, the solution to at least one of the objects mentioned, it is proposed that a vehicle be equipped with a data memory, which is rigidly attached in the vehicle, separate with respect to the control arrangement and in which at least one dataset relevant to the vehicle is stored or can be stored, the control arrangement being configured to read out data of the dataset relevant to the vehicle from the data memory in a read access via a data connection and/or, in a write access, to write data to the data memory for recording in the dataset relevant to the vehicle or to update the dataset relevant to the vehicle.
The data memory is rigidly attached, according to the invention, in the vehicle, in other words cannot be simply removed from the vehicle or replaced by another data memory. The data memory should therefore be non-detachably integrated into the vehicle, for example on or in the vehicle frame, in a cable set, which can only be removed from the vehicle or exchanged with a great deal of effort, and the like.
The data memory may also be used to store important vehicle data, preferably to ensure data integrity or only to store said vehicle data in a protected manner to prevent manipulations, for which conventional security methods such as encoding and protection by a check sum can be used. Important vehicle data, such as, for example, the vehicle serial number, relevant parameters for the functional arrangement, the equipment of the vehicle with parameter data characterising functional components, and so on, can be stored, or are stored in this data memory or are readable by the control arrangement.
It is taken into consideration here that the control arrangement, in a self-test, checks the integrity of the parameter dataset stored in itself, which contains important vehicle data such as the vehicle serial number and relevant parameters, and also checks the integrity of the data in the data memory, which is separate from the control arrangement, and carries out a comparison between the parameter dataset and the dataset of the data memory that is relevant to the vehicle.
In the case of faulty data or data differing from one another or data that does not correspond to one another, corresponding predefined vehicle reactions may then be triggered by the control arrangement. It is thus advisable for the control arrangement to emit acoustic and/or optical fault messages. Furthermore, functions relevant to security, especially working or operating functions of the functional arrangement, can be blocked or limited.
The data memory according to the invention also allows a service engineer, after the control arrangement has been exchanged, to restore the new control arrangement to the original state of the commercial vehicle rapidly and securely by an automated data download from the data memory.
Apart from securing the integrity and compatibility of relevant parameter data, in particular parameter data relevant to security, the data memory according to the invention also allows selective clearing of working or operating functions, which are coupled to a specific vehicle identified by the vehicle serial number. Functions of the commercial vehicle can thus be offered as additional functions subject to a charge.
The possibility has already been mentioned, at least implicitly, that the control arrangement, or at least one control arrangement module thereof, can be removed from the vehicle independently of the data memory and replaced by an exchange control arrangement or an exchange control arrangement module. This means that certain settings and parameters of the vehicle are not only stored on the component, which can be exchanged during a service and forms the control arrangement, and, in a sense, “disappear” with the removal of this component, but are retained during an exchange of controller both during an exchange for a replacement part and in the event of a “cross-exchange” between a plurality of commercial vehicles. The effort during the exchange is therefore reduced and possible faults through to security-critical faulty parameterisations can be avoided. The additional effort and, accordingly, also the service costs are reduced while simultaneously increasing the quality and security.
The above considerations mean that the data relevant to the vehicle and stored in the data memory may comprise the parameter dataset or a part set of the parameter dataset.
It can certainly be taken into consideration that the control arrangement and/or the data memory is configured for the control arrangement to be able to access that data memory only for reading but not writing. Data could then be stored in the data memory, which clearly identify the vehicle, such as the vehicle serial number, and which provide the hardware equipment of the vehicle. If the hardware equipment is changed, the data memory would then optionally have to be exchanged or reprogrammed by technical means external to the vehicle. Non-authorised manipulations can thus be very reliably prevented.
Another possibility is for the control arrangement and/or the data memory to be configured for the control arrangement to be able to access a first memory portion of the data memory only for reading but not for writing and to be able to access a second memory portion of the data memory for reading and writing. By means of this development approach, data, such as the serial number of the vehicle, can be stored in the first memory portion and data, such as, for example, parameters being selectively used, can be stored in the second memory portion.
A configuration of this type of the data memory with a first and a second memory portion of the type disclosed is not imperative, however, corresponding security against manipulation can also be achieved by the application of encodings and the like.
In general, it can be taken into consideration that the data memory or the second memory portion is configured as an electrically erasable programmable memory (EEPROM) or that the data memory or the first memory portion is configured as a read-only memory (ROM) or as an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM). It has already been mentioned that the data memory can be rigidly installed on or in a frame or a cable harness of the vehicle.
To provide the data connection between the data memory and the electronic control arrangement, in principle any data connections can be considered, such as, for example, a digital data bus or field bus. A data connection is preferred, which is rigidly installed in the vehicle. For example, the data connection may comprise at least one electric data line rigidly installed in the vehicle. The data connection is preferably formed by a serial two-wire bus, for example a synchronous serial two-wire bus, or—most preferably—by a serial one-wire bus. The so-called I2C bus or TWI bus is suitable, for example, as the two-wire bus.
As already mentioned, the control arrangement is preferably configured or programmed to read out data from the data memory and to check said data using data of the parameter data set stored in the control arrangement according to at least a first checking condition, and to respond to non-fulfillment of the checking condition by triggering at least one follow-up function and/or by blocking or limiting at least one working or operating function of the functional arrangement.
A readout and check of this type can, for example, take place after each restart or reset of the control arrangement or the vehicle, and/or when a specific working and operating function is to be carried out. A suitable follow-up function may be an indication or a warning, acoustically and/or optically, when the checking condition is not fulfilled.
It is furthermore proposed that the control arrangement be configured or programmed to read out data from the data memory and to check said data using data of the parameter dataset stored in the control arrangement according to at least one second checking condition, and to respond to a fulfillment of the checking condition by clearing or eliminating a restriction of at least one working or operating function of the functional arrangement. For example, selecting functions are considered here, which are only to be carried out by the control arrangement or the programme running in the control arrangement when said control arrangement is cleared for the relevant vehicle.
The invention also provides a control arrangement for a vehicle according to the invention, which is configured or programmed, after installation in the vehicle, for parameterisation in relation to the vehicle, to carry out a parameterising function, in which data are read out of the data memory and stored as a parameter data set in the control arrangement.
As a development, it is proposed that the control arrangement be configured or programmed for the parameterising function to only be able to be carried out when no parameter dataset has previously been stored in the control arrangement, or can only be carried out if a parameter dataset was previously stored in the control arrangement, when an authorisation function clears this, for example on the basis of the authorisation data fed to the control arrangement.
The control arrangement is preferably configured or programmed to read out data from the data memory and to check said data using data of a parameter dataset previously stored in the control arrangement according to at least one checking condition, and to respond to non-fulfillment of the checking condition by triggering at least one follow-up function and/or by blocking or limiting at least one working or operating function of the functional arrangement.
According to a second aspect, the invention provides a method for parameterising a control arrangement in relation to a vehicle according to the invention. In this method, data are read out from the data memory rigidly attached in the vehicle and stored as parameter data of a parameter dataset in the control arrangement of the vehicle.
Furthermore, according to a third aspect, the invention provides a method for securing parameter integrity and/or parameter compatibility of a parameter dataset stored in a control arrangement in relation to a vehicle according to the invention. In the method, data are read out from the data memory rigidly attached in the vehicle and compared with parameter data of a parameter dataset stored in the control arrangement. The data read out from the data memory and/or the parameter data of the parameter dataset are preferably checked for data integrity, most preferably before the comparison.
The invention will be described below without describing the generality with the aid of an embodiment relating to a fork-lift truck.